dispossessed their
garrisons. Well satisfied with this exploit, Denonville in 1687 turned
his attention to the chastisement of the Iroquois.

The forces which he brought together for this task were greatly
superior to any that had been mustered in Canada before. Not only were
they adequate in numbers, but they comprised an important band of
coureurs de bois, headed by La Durantaye, Tonty, Du Lhut, and Nicolas
Perrot--men who equalled the Indians in woodcraft and surpassed them in
character. The epitaph of Denonville as a governor is written in the
failure of this great expedition to accomplish its purpose.

The first blunder occurred at Fort Frontenac before mobilization had
been completed. There were on the north shore of Lake Ontario two
Iroquois villages, whose inhabitants had been in part baptized by the
Sulpicians and {107} were on excellent terms with the garrison of the
fort. In a moment of insane stupidity Denonville decided that the men
of these settlements should be captured and sent to France as galley
slaves. Through the ruse of a banquet they were brought together and
easily seized. By dint of a little further effort two hundred Iroquois
of all ages and both sexes were collected at Fort Frontenac as
prisoners--and some at least perished by torture. But, when executing
this dastardly plot, Denonville did not succeed in catching all the
friendly Iroquois who lived in the neighbourhood of his fort. Enough
escaped to carry the authentic tale to the Five Nations, and after that
there could be no peace till there had been revenge. Worst of all, the
French stood convicted of treachery and falseness.

Having thus blighted his cause at the outset, Denonville proceeded with
his more serious task of smiting the Iroquois in their own country.
Considering the extent and expense of his preparations, he should have
planned a complete destruction of their power. Instead of this he
attempted no more than an attack upon the Senecas, whose operations
against the Illinois and in other quarters had made {108} them
especially objectionable. The composite army of French and Indians
assembled at Irondequoit Bay on July 12--a force brought together at
infinite pains and under circumstances which might never occur again.
Marching southwards they fought a trivial battle with the Senecas, in
which half a dozen on the French side were killed, while the Senecas
are said to have lost about a hundred in killed and wounded.